1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicles for carrying coils of various materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to a railcar for carrying coils of various materials such as coil steel, etc. Most particularly, the present invention relates to a railcar for carrying coils of various materials having side sills and at least one foldable platform disposed within or contained within at least one of said side sills.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art in the field of coil carrying vehicles is somewhat voluminous. The problem has always existed and still exists until the time of the present invention as to how to carry the maximum number of coils of a material, for example coiled steel, in the allowable space.
The allowable space is often determined by government regulations, rather than the carrier. For example, state highway departments typically limit the maximum height, width and length of trailers which may be hauled by semitractors. This, in turn, has spurred much work related to to getting the maximum usage of the available space for this type of vehicle.
Similarly, in the field of rail transportation, as will be discussed further hereinbelow, the American Association of Railroads prescribes the maximum envelope or space that a railcar can occupy so that a railcar will be able to traverse bridges and tunnels throughout the country.
Known railcar arrangements for hauling coils of various materials are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,977,900; 3,009,426; 3,186,357; 3,291,072; and 4,451,188.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,997,900 issued to A. J. Farrar shows a removable cover for railcars transporting steel coils. The cover is used on a gondola-car with cradles formed in the bottom of the car to retain the steel coils. The body of the gondola-car includes a narrow platform along the outer edge of the car.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,291,072 to J. B. Cunningham discloses a support system for carrying different size coils. The outer support members are fixed at a downward slope. The two inner support members are hinged at both ends so that they can be inverted to divide a single large storage position into two smaller storage positions.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,357 to S. H. Fillion shows a side sill and top flange arrangement. Planks extend the length of the car and extend at a downward angle from the side sills to a center sill. This forms a cradle which is an integral part of the car structure and shocks applied through the couplers are absorbed by cushioning mechanisms.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,426 to S. M. Nampa shows a railcar for transporting steel coils which include a hinged cover to enclose the steel coils. Wooden planks run the length of the cradle and are bolted to angled members. The wooden planks define the surface of the trough which engages the steel coil. The cover is split down the middle and is hinged at the outer edges. The cover rotates to permit coils to be loaded from the top or from the ends of the enclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,188 to Smith et al. shows a support deck with trough assemblies mounted on the support deck. The trough assemblies have a configuration which facilitates the mounting of various coil sizes. A cover is mounted on corner posts and edge rails of the car. The edge rails are a fixed component, and are used to support the cover. Moveable troughs can be used to change the configuration of the decking for different coil arrangements.
While these known configurations of coil cars help the railroad industry carry more and larger coils they all suffer from one common problem in that a platform was needed around the entire car for workers to stand on while assisting in the loading and unloading of the coils. Thus, the entire 128" width permitted by the American Association of Railroads (AAR) plate "C" for coil cars could not be used, and maximum capacity could not be achieved. Thus, those skilled in the art continued to search for a solution to the long standing art of how to maximize the capacity of coil carrying vehicles in the permitted space.